1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to a sliding roof for vehicles. Particularly, the invention relates to a sliding roof for vehicles of the type in which a slidable panel slides outwardly and rearwardly of a roof opening.
2. Description of Relevant Art
As one of the sliding roofs for vehicles, there has been known in the art an externally sliding roof which is disclosed in GB No. 2,068,304. The externally sliding roof is provided with: an opening formed in a body roof; a panel adapted to open and close the opening; and a guide for guiding the opening and closing movement of the panel on the roof so that the panel is slid above the roof through said guide to open the opening.
In that sliding roof of the prior art, however, the members for supporting the panel slidably relative to the roof opening, i.e., front stays and a screw telescope are arranged in alignment with each other with respect to the moving direction of the roof panel. As a result, the maximum stroke of the rearward movement of the roof panel terminates in a position, where the aforementioned supporting members abut against each other, thereby causing a disadvantage in that the length of the opening when the panel is opened cannot be retained at a large value.